Legend has it that Bertolt Brecht's world was turned upside down by a Chinese opera star. The European playwright, who felt that physicality had more integrity than speech, met a revelation of the body's true mutability in the person Mei Lan-Fang. To Brecht's amazement, Mei could use pure movement to

Chinese opera, Elegant, Epic, Mythic, Pioneering

A protege of dancers Eubie Blake and Noble Sissel, 15-year-old Josephine Baker began her career on the vaudeville circuits, touring with Bessie Smith as a chorus girl. After Broadway appearances in "Shuffle Along" (1921) -- which marked the advent of the black theatrical renaissance, and "Chocolate D

Elegant, Erotic, Feminine, Harlem renaissance theater, Kinetic, Sexy, Tribal